so that they see things differently from how they really are—which entails a change in their perception—what makes it impossible for his influence to alter some of their qualities, faculties, and dispositions? What is the difference between a change in vision and a change in some other attribute of the soul or body? If he alters a person’s perception so that he sees what is stationary as moving, what is joined as separated, and what is dead as alive, what makes it impossible for him to alter the qualities of that person’s soul, making what he loves hateful to him and what he hates beloved, or producing other such effects?

Allah Most High said of Pharaoh’s sorcerers:

“They bewitched the eyes of the people, struck terror into them, and produced mighty sorcery.” (7:155)

He, Glorified be He, thus made clear that their eyes were bewitched. This could have been due to a change in the objects being seen—the ropes and staffs—as when the sorcerers called upon spirits, namely devils, to move them, and the people thought they moved by themselves. This is like someone you cannot see dragging a mat or carpet: you see the mat or carpet being dragged but do not see whoever is dragging it, even though he is the one doing so. Such was the case with the ropes and staffs: the devils took hold of them and made them writhe like snakes. The onlookers thought they were writhing by themselves, whereas it was the devils that were making them do so. Alternatively, the change could have occurred in the onlookers, so that they saw the ropes and staffs moving when they were actually stationary. There is no doubt that a sorcerer does both: sometimes he acts upon the onlooker’s soul and perception, making him see things differently from how they really are; at other times, he acts upon the object being seen by calling upon devilish spirits to manipulate it.

As for the deniers’ claim that the sorcerers did something to the ropes and staffs that caused them to move and travel along, using mercury or something else, this is false on many grounds. Had that been the case, it would not have been an illusion but actual movement. Nor would it have constituted bewitching people’s eyes or been called sorcery; rather, it would have been an ordinary craft. Yet Allah Most High said:

“Then suddenly, through their magic, their ropes and staffs appeared to him to be moving.” (20:66)

Had they moved through some contrivance, as the deniers claim, this would have had nothing to do with sorcery. Such a thing would not be difficult to detect.